Ramiah Investment Group Takes $450,000 Position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF)

Ramiah Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,696 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $450,000. Regions Financial makes up approximately 0.5% of Ramiah Investment Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Norges Bank bought a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $279,103,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Regions Financial by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,468,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $363,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,954 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Regions Financial by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,522,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,121 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,480,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Regions Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,658,858 shares of the bank's stock valued at $227,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,882 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of RF stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $24.68. 6,445,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,346,350. The firm has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.38. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.15.

Regions Financial Profile

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services.